THE SIUSLAW NEWS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER ❚ October 2017
SCHOOL
ZONE
A Monthly Newsletter for the Siuslaw and Mapleton School Districts and Community Groups
The value of a
college degree
S TORY AND PHOTOS
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
e’re doing this for the kids,”
Kiwanis President Jean Mur-
phey said at the opening of
Kiwanis Club of Florence’s Reality Experience for
Siuslaw and Mapleton eighth-graders on Oct. 19:
Th e Game of Life.
Kiwanis’ goal is to serve the children of the
world, and it does this through programs and
fundraisers throughout the year. Th e Florence
club found the idea for a walk-through version
of Th e Game of Life in the Kiwanis International
magazine aft er the Kiwanis Club of Greencastle,
Ind., submitted a story about its experiences.
“For our version, we called it ‘Th e Game of
Life, A Reality Check for Eighth-Graders,’” Mur-
phey said.
Nine Mapleton students and approximately
120 Siuslaw students attended the event at the
Siuslaw Middle School gym.
Impressively, 50 volunteers planned for, set
up and led the students through the event. Th is
included 18 Kiwanians, representatives from the
two school districts and people from Oregon
Pacifi c Bank, Coldwell Banker Coast Real Es-
tate, Johnston Motors, Banner Bank, Coast In-
surance Services, State Farm Insurance, Banner
Bank, City of Florence, Central Lincoln PUD,
Tony’s Garage, State Employment Department,
Children’s Repertory of Oregon Workshops
(CROW), Oregon State Police, Florence Police
Department, Western Lane Ambulance District,
Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue, Oceanside Vet-
erinary Clinic, Florence Dental Clinic and other
community partners. Florence Mayor Joe Hen-
ry dawned his “every day” hat to help with the
mortgage station.
In addition, members of the Siuslaw High
School Key Club and two Mapleton High School
students also volunteered.
Mapleton School District Superintendent Jodi
O’Mara said, “Th is is an amazing opportunity for
kids to actually have a real-life experience before
it really counts. It’s like a trial run for ‘the game of
life.’ And it really is like a game — sometimes you
win, and sometimes you lose. How you deal with
that is important.”
Students came into the simulation knowing
certain details about their “futures:” whether
they were married, their number of children and
their chosen career, including a market-rate for
their salary.
“Our concept is to dwindle their wages to
nothing,” Murphey said.
Students had to fi ll out a check register with
every expense as they went around to booths
around the gym. Th ese included stations for
transportation, banks, utilities, taxes, realtors,
B Y R USS P IERSON
Dean of Lane Community College
Florence Center
“W
T
On Oct. 19,
130 Mapleton and
Siuslaw eighth-graders
learn "Game of Life."
insurance, mortgages, technology, ca-
reer counseling, clothing, community
involvement, entertainment, food,
medical/dental, legal services and
pets. State Farm provided backpacks
for all the students to store their pa-
perwork and other items they picked
up at the stations.
Many of the stations represented
expenses as students fi rst bought
a vehicle, applied for an auto loan,
maintained and then insured the car.
Students faced reality with the cost of
a new car versus a used, or looked at the housing
they could aff ord on their budget.
Students with bigger salaries saw their money
stretch further than their peers. Th ey were able to
buy second homes and multiple cars while some
students considered buying a van to both drive
and live in.
“We expect that the ‘Wheel of Life’ is going to
get hit time aft er time, because it’s fun,” Murphey
said early in the day.
And it was.
Functioning much like the spinning wheel
on the actual board game, students had to spin
the wheel before drawing a corresponding card.
Some of the cards led to unexpected expenses,
and some to bonuses. Th e cards even had life ex-
periences, such as the cost of a divorce.
“Th e ‘Wheel of Life’ is great,” O’Mara said. “It’s
exciting to see what the kids all get.”
Florence-area emergency services volunteers
led the station and interacted with the students.
Organizers joked that the eighth-graders behaved
so well since the uniformed volunteers were so
Weird Science
prominently placed in the center of the gym.
Siuslaw Middle School Principal Andy Marohl
said, “Th e kids are engaged. Th ey were a little
squirrely in the Commons before it began, but
they’re excited. …What will be important is the
follow-up activity that we do with the kids in the
classroom.”
Each school met with the students to go over
lessons, and Kiwanis plans to send out a follow
up survey to get additional feedback.
“Th e game works really well with our ASPIRE
program, the career and college readiness pro-
gram where we try to get kids to think about
their future and what they need to do be pre-
pared for it,” Marohl said.
Murphey said the event was both fun and edu-
cational, and that the schools asked Kiwanis to
bring the program back in the spring for high
school juniors.
“Our Mapleton kids are so excited to be a part
of this,” O’Mara said. “It’s a great opportunity not
just for them to come here and participate with
more eighth-graders, but to just see all the diff er-
ent aspects. It gives them a lot to consider.”
Siuslaw fi ft h-graders
conduct science experiment
M
iss B. and Mrs. Riggs’
fi ft h-grade classes at Siu-
slaw Elementary School con-
ducted an experiment to deter-
mine if three diff erent mystery
liquids were weak acids.
Th ey fi rst learned that some
really common liquids are actu-
ally weak acids — lemon juice
and vinegar — and then learned
that water is not an acid.
To be able to determine if
their mystery liquids were ac-
ids, students had to observe
what a known acid does when
mixed with some common
agents. First they tested water
and vinegar each with salt, bak-
ing soda and “bean water” by
watching what happened when
they were combined. Th eir ob-
servations led them to under-
stand that acids always react in
some way with these common
agents.
Th e teachers recommended
combining baking soda and
vinegar to see the reaction.
Students learned that if their
mystery liquids reacted in any
way with the same agents, they
would be acids.
It turns out that the mystery
liquids of orange juice, ketchup
and mustard are, in fact, acids.
While learning this, the
classes practiced their best sci-
entifi c procedures: they wore
eye protection, made a plan to
prevent cross-contamination
and made careful and thorough
notes about their observations.
— Story and photos submit-
ted by Diane McCalmont for
Siuslaw Elementary School
he American college is under intense scrutiny these
days, with detractors on every side. Certainly, some
of the criticism stems from the for-profi t college sector,
with high profi le examples like the ITT Technical In-
stitute chain that over-promised and under-delivered
on training for thousands of students hoping for a new
start and a better future before it closed in 2016.
According to Time, in one recent year, “for-profi ts
spent 17 percent of their budgets on instruction and 42
percent on marketing or investor payouts,” and an older
study found that “from 2010 to 2012 they took more
than a quarter of federal aid subsidies and represented
nearly half of all defaults.”
Much of the recent attention also swirls around “stu-
dent progression and completion” — tying aid to re-
quirements that colleges ensure their students fi nish
their programs of study.
Th is is certainly of critical importance to those of
us in higher education, but especially at a community
college, it can be very interesting to try to determine
student intent. Not every student who enrolls at Lane
Community College (LCC) intends to graduate with
an Associate’s degree. Indeed, they may simply wish to
upgrade their skillset in one area or another, or simply
take a couple of courses in subjects that always inter-
ested them.
At LCC, we’re working hard to understand our stu-
dent’s goals and to ensure their success in meeting
whatever their goals may be.
College also gets hit from a small but vocal element
of voices in the entrepreneurial community who have
found you don’t necessarily need a structured, formal
education to be a success.
Again at LCC, we recognize that the best educa-
tional approach can vary from person to person and
industry to industry. Th at’s why we partner with RAIN
(the Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network)
and the SBDC (Small Business Development Center)
to support their innovative approaches to grow the
small business and entrepreneurial communities in
our midst.
But there’s yet another surprising force in society
that seems to be watering down the value of a college
degree. In many ways, a college degree has become the
new high school diploma in America. Too many busi-
nesses and industries now require a college degree for
entry level jobs that never had such a requirement in
the past.
According to the Washington Post: “(A) wide range
of jobs — in management, administration, sales and
other fi elds — are undergoing ‘upcredentialing,’ or de-
gree infl ation. As examples, just 25 percent of people
employed as insurance clerks have a BA, but twice
that percentage of insurance clerk job ads require one.
Among executive secretaries and executive assistants,
19 percent of job-holders have degrees, but 65 percent
of job postings mandate them.”
A college degree really is truly valuable, but if you
are in a position to hire employees, please carefully
consider whether that job you are posting ought to
require the extra expertise, experience and skill that a
college degree aff ords. If it does, then that is great news
for the college graduate who brings that extra degree
of skill to the workplace (and ought to be paid accord-
ingly). But let’s market our employment opportunities
appropriately and continue to both make a way for the
students who aren’t able or don’t wish to attend col-
lege and the students who bring that something extra
to your workplace.
Pottery students donate to benefi t
S
iuslaw High School Pottery students have do-
nated more than 200 bisque-fi red bowls for
Florence Food Share’s 22nd annual Empty Bowls
fundraiser. Every year, local artisans create beau-
tiful glass, wooden and ceramic bowls which they
donate to this event. All proceeds from the event
go to benefi t Florence Food Share.
Siuslaw High School Art Teacher Kim Pickell en-
courages her students to participate each year,
reminding them that they can use their artistic
talents to benefi t those in need in lieu of donat-
ing money.
The students do the creating and the bisque fi re
and local artists glaze and fi re the bowls again.
Most of the bowls sell for $10 each.
The event takes place this year from Dec. 1 to 3 at
the Florence Events Center and is the perfect place
to buy holiday gifts. Go to www.fl orencefoodshare.
org for more information about the event.
Pickell also gave a shout out to Kathy Shamey
and The Backstreet Gallery Artists for their gener-
ous donations to the Siuslaw High School Art and
Pottery programs.
— Photo and story submitted by Kim Pickell
Siuslaw Pottery
Student Alyssa
Lydick